Town and Norwich City are understood to be amongst a number of clubs eyeing Charlton midfielder Nicky Bailey. The 25-year-old Addicks skipper looks set to leave the Valley this summer with only one year left on his contract.

Bailey, who has also been linked with Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough and Southampton in recent weeks, missed the vital shoot-out penalty which saw Charlton lose their play-off semi-final to Swindon.

However, the 5ft 10in tall all-action midfielder was one of the Addicks’ best performers throughout the season and was named in the PFA League One Team of the Year.

Bailey was with Fulham’s academy as a youngster but moved on to non-league Sutton United, where he impressed enough to win a £10,000 move to then-Conference side Barnet in 2004, scoring 19 goals in the 2003/04 season.

After three years at Underhill, during which time he won England C caps and helped the Bees into League Two, the Hammersmith-born player joined Southend for a fee of £175,000.

Bailey won the Player of the Year award in his only season at Roots Hall, moving on to Charlton in the summer of 2008 for a fee potentially rising to £750,000, having failed to agree a new deal with the Shrimpers.

A central midfielder for most of his career, Bailey has been used on the left of midfield by Addicks boss Phil Parkinson this season, despite being right-footed.

Bailey, who would probably cost somewhere around the £500,000 mark, scored 13 goals last season, having top-scored during Charlton’s Championship relegation season, again netting 13 times, when he was the Fans’ Player of the Year, and 12 the previous year with Southend.

Town are currently short on midfielders who play on the left with Peterborough’s George Boyd and Tottenham youngster Andros Townsend also believed to be on Roy Keane’s list of potential signings.

The Blues are also likely to be looking for one or two additions in the centre of midfield with Liam Trotter having joined Millwall, loanee Jack Colback back at Sunderland and Alan Quinn, Colin Healy and Owen Garvan also expected to be on their way out of Portman Road this summer.

Photo: Action Images

StanwayTractorboy added 00:00 - Jun 8 Saw him play a couple of times last season and looked a cracking player.
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Suffolk_n_Good added 00:05 - Jun 8 TBH, I don't know a great deal about him, but seems like he consistantly scores goals from midfield which can only be a good thing, for £500K & at 26 yrs old, I think go for it, he must have something about him if he's been a skipper surely? A fresh midfield face would be most welcome!!
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barmyarmy added 00:08 - Jun 8 looks a good player from what i saw of him last season, but i still think ambrose is a better punt. altough this is yet another linking with yet another player, so its not worth getting too excited about.
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Suffolk_n_Good added 00:11 - Jun 8 LOL barmyarmy, your right, (a little sad I know) but I've been keeping tabs on how many players we have been "linked with" Bailey is number 12!!..... I'm guessing 50 before the season kicks off!!!
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mightytown added 00:41 - Jun 8 pleased with this news, good player who can score goals and at a decent price. just hope we can actually sign someone soon to get some excitement back into the team and create a buzz for next season.
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Redmond added 01:23 - Jun 8 would be good and aslong as the scum dont get a decent player
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tractorboynathan added 07:22 - Jun 8 Seen this player many times! And i can honestly say he is too good for league one, he stands out. I Dont know this this post said he is a left winger because hes not, he is a box to box midfielder that gives his all. Would be there perfectic partner next to leadbitter. Hope this is true! COYB!
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mickeyjb added 07:36 - Jun 8 Never seen the guy, but from the sound of it could he be the next Matt Holland? Ironic really, if we get him from Charton. I do think we should take all of Charltons best players and pay next to nothing for them. PAYBACK!
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bleedblue added 09:22 - Jun 8 His stats add up, and this is the sort of player Burley would have brought back in the day, he loved sniffing out a bargain! We do lack goal threat from midfield and having a think, we have had no one who scored a hatful from midfield since Tommy Miller?? This gets my vote, sign him up Keano! mickeyjb - PAYBACK Indeed!
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agc232 added 09:27 - Jun 8 Can we sign him and Chopra up by the end of the week please.... Imagine him on the left with Norris and Leadbitter in the middle Walters on the right all linking up with Chopra and Wickham.... If that wouldnt scare defences especially those visiting Portman Road, then I dont know what would!
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joeippy01 added 09:30 - Jun 8 would have rather keeped trotter than getting this boy in, whats wrong with us, letting our own youth players going on the cheap and then buying an average league 1 player. i cant see us doing much atall with keane here this season, maybe we are signing league 1 players ready for the following season for when we need them IN LEAGUE 1. come on town sort yourself out this is shocking!

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el_nino added 09:43 - Jun 8 Finally! I've been harping on about him for about a year, saying we should sgin him. He would be a quality addition, just what we need to add goals and energy to the midfield. Go and get him Roy!
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parkinshair added 10:12 - Jun 8 Charlton were linked with Lisbie a while back. Could we use him in the deal I wonder?
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devontractorboy added 12:29 - Jun 8 saw him play last season and is a good player with an eye for goal, the kind of price we should be paying too, think we're putting to much hope on Chopra.
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Grimsbyblue added 12:38 - Jun 8 Sounds like a good addition to me. joeippy01 - Trotter didnt make the grade last season, and we offered him a contract so we didnt "let him go", he wanted to go. I can't see how you can call Bailey an average league 1 player, he was in the PFA league 1 team of the season and scored 13 goals(Did you read the article?). This is just the type of improving player we should be going after rather than paying over the odds and massive wages for premiership hasbeens, who incidentally would not want to come to Ipswich.

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Mungo added 14:13 - Jun 8 A hard working midfielder who can play anywhere across the midfield and score goals? Sounds very useful, good age and apparently available at a reasonable price. What could possibly go wrong? Joeippy01 - A tad harsh but I can understand where you are coming from. It's unfortunate that Trotter has left but it was ultimately up to him, and he has done what he thinks is best for his career. Likewise, describing Nicky Bailey as an average league one player is a little unfair, as he was among the top league one players last year and played in the Championship for 2 years before that, with some success.

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tom_the_blue added 16:26 - Jun 8 Would be a good signing.
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tractaboy added 17:45 - Jun 8 Sign him up! Very good player and would adapt to the Championship well. Fingers crossed for this and Chopra, then things would look a lot rosier.
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Len_Brennan added 19:56 - Jun 8 I'm with el_nino on this one. Thought he was a smashing player in Charlton's relegation season and would have liked to have gone for him this time last year. Kept an eye out for him this season and was impressed whenever I saw highlights packages. Would be a great signing and is easily Championship standard. It would be £500,000 well spent in my view, a guaranteed success ... barring injury of course. Joeippy: You can't have seen "this boy" play.

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jas0999 added 19:57 - Jun 8 Would be a good signing. Always interesting to listen to the moaners, who actually get their facts totally wrong. Ipswich actually did very good business for the want away Trotter.
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Brad_C_ITFC added 20:39 - Jun 8 Yeah I always had him in mind when he was always scoring for Charlton when they were in the relegation scrap. I think it would be well worth it and like many have said above - this price is much more reasonable but I am pro for signing Chopsy :)
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joeippy01 added 10:30 - Jun 9 Trotter only wanted to leave becasue we kept shipping him out on loan, the only run in the team he got was when every player on the pitch was playing bad so he just mingled in with the rest of them, i watched him for millwall and he was one of the best players on the pitch, and his young and got a lot of time to improve. Bailey would be an OK signing but im not sure he would be better than what we have got. Anyway we dont have any money until we start selling players and no one seems to want them so look like we could be stuck here, is this true or something that i have misunderstood?

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